The Hunt
by Noctisferrae
Summary: In the wake of the Third Sorceress War, the world is picking up the pieces and trying to figure out what happened. Some of the most powerful forces in the world have found a starting point. XuxQuistis.


The disarray of FH's best fishing spot showed just how accustomed a town of pacifists was to violence, the civilians having already run from the dimly-colored uniforms of the Galbadian soldiers now surrounding the three travelers. …The leader, a grey-coated man with an incurable smirk and tattered clothing, just chuckled, his gunblade just out of arm's reach.

"So, they sent the fifteen of you after just the three of us?"

"Man, that's totally unfair, ya know?"

"INSUFFICIENT."

The three didn't look like they should have anything to do with one another—but the Lieutenant had his orders, and he just shook his head and snapped his fingers.

"Mister Almasy, on the charges of high treason and murder, we /order/ you to come along with us peacefully to Galbadia, where you'll await your trial. …Your accomplices too, of course."

The guns on Lieutenant Norran's arms glinted in the fading sunlight, his red uniform shining brightly as he waited—his second-in-command behind him, rising in the wake of Seifer's glare, Hyperion in the Galbadian's hand. Matthews—the Sergeant—had his sword at the ready in his other hand, and was circling the group carefully, his eyes flicking between Seifer and his muscled, tanned friend, there, even if he was only wielding a fishing pole against them. He made one, deft motion, and the other soldiers started to fill in around them, forming a half-circle on the docks, trapping Seifer, Fuujin, and Raijin with their backs to the agitated water. Raijin frowned heavily, glancing to the calm, sneering Seifer—who just tilted his head at the unshakably fierce albino woman to his left. _Go._

"Kiss my ass, Lieutenant. Get your second's grubby hands off Hyperion." He crossed his arms, casually and just smiled—and that was all the cue that was left before he sprang into action, lunging hard at Matthews with a right hook. Meanwhile, Raijin dropped the pole to charge Lieutenant Norran, who was already lining up the tall man with his guns as Fuujin made a hard motion with her fist, calling up a tornado straight out of nothing, panicking a few of the rookies of the group as they crashed into one another, before one of them had the good sense to fling a Silence spell at the one-eyed warrior.

The mayor of FH didn't make the mistake, this time, of going out to face the conflict alone.

* * *

"…and I hope that all of you cadets and SeeDs will remember the team and Squall's leadership as an example in the years to come. Thank you." Cid turned off the intercom, smiling fondly at the now-former Commander. "Well? How do you feel, Squall?" 

Squall, for once dressed in full uniform, glanced down once to eye the medal around his neck, once at Rinoa, beside him, and then back up at Cid, all without moving a thing but his head and his eyes. Rinoa, of course, her hands clasped behind her back so as not to fiddle with the formality of it all, was beaming at him. Cid, of course, was patient enough to wait while Squall twitched about nine different muscles in his face before eventually saying, "Relieved, sir. Thank you." He didn't smile, but he didn't scowl, either.

_It's a start!_, was the first thing to come to Rinoa's mind as she moved closer. "Come on, this is great! You don't have to worry so much, anymore! We should--"Rinoa stopped, immediately, and sobered, shifting her attention to the Headmaster. "Permission to take the SeeD?" She straightened her back and did a perfect imitation of the SeeD salute, arm parallel to her front, palm-in.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Headmaster Kramer chuckled, nodding and waving the two off. "Very well. That contract's still good, you know." He stepped away, moving toward his desk, and taking the intercom mic with him—they'd just had another installed below the piloting deck, so that the Headmaster could /use/ what was left of his office. Squall, of course, offered a salute somehow crisper than Rinoa's, and the two moved away for the elevator, Sorceress hanging on SeeD's arm.

* * *

Step forward again: one punch to the center; a second following up just below, and then a slide-back—front kick to the top of the punching bag, side-kick to the bottom with the left leg, and the black-haired SeeD let herself slip backward away from the bag, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead as she glanced once around the empty training room. 

'_Quistis is probably in Trabia, by now_,' she thought, and launched into another flurry against the punching bag. She gave off no real signs of strain, easily varying her moves as she kept up a training routine, her attention elsewhere. '_..And Leonhart's getting as far from that command post as he can get._' Pause for breath, and then she kept going, spinning around into a back-kick and following up with a trio of punches. '_With that girl of his, I'll bet. The Sorceress…Rinoa. Rinoa, that's it._'

'_Trip to Trabia takes…_' Xu slipped on her next punch, crashing face-first into the punching bag. She fell back, and found herself looking straight up at the ceiling, coughing once. "…that's unusual," she deadpanned.

"Come on, Xu, focus." She started to stand up again, dusting herself off and rubbing at her nose, when the familiar dinging of the intercom came up again; she paused to listen.

"Xu, please report to the Headmaster's office at your earliest convenience. Thank you."

Raising an eyebrow, Xu shrugged, and headed for her locker, grabbing her towel and her uniform jacket. "This session's a wash, anyway."

She didn't waste any time heading up.

* * *

"Are your GFs equipped?" Quistis glanced over to Selphie, having already linked Quezacotl and Siren to her mind, providing an electric buffer to the cold of the Trabian coast. Her mind already searched for the hidden things, Siren urging her on. The Guardian Force tugged at her senses, pointing out a draw point hidden beneath the ship they'd taken, as Quistis clipped the last hypospray potion to her belt. 

"Of course!" Selphie beamed and waved off the transport, which started to move off again. "Off to Trabia Garden, right?"

Quistis nodded, and started moving, waving to the pilot of the ship and letting Selphie join at her side. "…I appreciate that you're letting me help, Selphie."

"Don't worry! You're a friend, and they'll see that. Besides, you're really going to be good for us. You'll like my friends, I think." Selphie walked along bouncily, and then paused. "Hey, Quistis?"

"Yes?"

* * *

­­­­­­­­­ 

"Ah, I'm glad you came so quickly." Cid Kramer nodded to Xu, standing before him, whose uniform was impeccable and whose two sai were buckled at her sides. "I have a rather unusual mission for you…"

Xu raised an eyebrow and waited, standing at attention before the Headmaster.

"Oh, at ease."

Xu relaxed slightly (only slightly), and nodded. "What would that be, sir?"

Cid sighed, and looked Xu directly in the eyes. "I want you to find Seifer."

* * *

(Final Fantasy VIII is owned by Square-Enix, as are its settings and characters. Only the additions and the characterizations are mine.) 


End file.
